Milestone

Published: Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 03:58 PM.

On December 31, 2012, The WildARC of East Carolina admitted the 10,000th wild animal for care. This milestone took 14 years, 2 months and 2 weeks to reach.

We have cared for myriad animals in this time: seven bald eagles (yes, they are here!), three baby river otters (what a treat for a week; after that they can be quite a handful!), thousands of orphaned babies (feathered and furred), hundreds of owls, gulls, osprey, hawks, and sea birds. We also cared for over 200 eastern box turtles, yellow bellied sliders, and snapping turtles, plus smaller ones such as mud and spotted turtles.

None of this would have been possible if we did not have the support of the human populations in this area. Not one of these animals would have been helped if a human had not found them. This is quite a testament to our collective compassion for all residents of this beautiful planet.

The WildARC is open 365 days a year, including holidays. We are not open 24 hours a day, but if you find an animal at night, our answering machine gives instructions of what to do until you can get the animal to us the next day. It is important to understand that wild animals need specialized care and the longer you keep it, the less chance we have of fixing it. The biggest show of love you can give that animal is getting it to qualified help. We are trained to find fractures, treat dehydration or emaciation or get the animal to a vet for surgery.

All of us at The WildARC are humbled and gratified by this out pouring of concern and want to thank everyone who has contributed (both financially or bringing a helpless animal to us) so that we may continue our vision to help our environment.

The Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center of East Carolina is located at 1312 Old Cherry Point Road in New Bern. Its phone number is 638-4646.

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On December 31, 2012, The WildARC of East Carolina admitted the 10,000th wild animal for care. This milestone took 14 years, 2 months and 2 weeks to reach.

We have cared for myriad animals in this time: seven bald eagles (yes, they are here!), three baby river otters (what a treat for a week; after that they can be quite a handful!), thousands of orphaned babies (feathered and furred), hundreds of owls, gulls, osprey, hawks, and sea birds. We also cared for over 200 eastern box turtles, yellow bellied sliders, and snapping turtles, plus smaller ones such as mud and spotted turtles.

None of this would have been possible if we did not have the support of the human populations in this area. Not one of these animals would have been helped if a human had not found them. This is quite a testament to our collective compassion for all residents of this beautiful planet.

The WildARC is open 365 days a year, including holidays. We are not open 24 hours a day, but if you find an animal at night, our answering machine gives instructions of what to do until you can get the animal to us the next day. It is important to understand that wild animals need specialized care and the longer you keep it, the less chance we have of fixing it. The biggest show of love you can give that animal is getting it to qualified help. We are trained to find fractures, treat dehydration or emaciation or get the animal to a vet for surgery.

All of us at The WildARC are humbled and gratified by this out pouring of concern and want to thank everyone who has contributed (both financially or bringing a helpless animal to us) so that we may continue our vision to help our environment.

The Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center of East Carolina is located at 1312 Old Cherry Point Road in New Bern. Its phone number is 638-4646.